No one had told her that it would be like this.
No one warned her how much it would hurt.
With a shaky hand she placed the flowers on the small tombstone, her cheeks dry but her heart throbbing with a dull ache.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
No one told her she would feel so empty.
What had she done wrong?
She lie awake at night finding several different answers to the haunting question, hoping, begging that she could correct her potential mistake.
It had all happened so quickly.
From the moment she found out she was pregnant to the moment the dreadful day came, it remained a white flash of inescapable time.
She could hardly recall what happened.
And when she did she found herself thinking merciless thoughts . . .
What if she had moved left?
What if she had moved right?
What if . . . it had never happened?
She tried to shake the tyrant ways of her own mind but there was no surpassing them.
Down the stairs she had gone that evening like she had so many others.
She shouldn't have been downstairs . . . she should have been in bed. Resting like the doctor had told her.
She was alone . . . like she was now.
No one should have been in the house that evening. Only her.
She had gone for the kitchen . . . her former sanctuary.
Why hadn't she been more careful?
The blue ball of sure death sped toward her and in an instant she dove to the floor, avoiding a fatal end.
Why did she dive?
She asked herself over and over again as she stared at the ceiling, tears threatening to gloss her brown eyes.
A single flick of her hands had taken care of the quandary but a new one plagued her as she rose. The room spun in all directions and she steadied herself with a firm hold on the counter.
The doorbell rung.
Why the hell did he show up?
The visitor was unlikely and unexpected.
"Hey," he greeted. His voice was cold and deep as usual, the only way she could ever imagine it. "I'm sorry to bother you . . ."
"You rang the doorbell . . ." she muttered in surprise.
His eyes wandered in confusion and he shrugged. "Yeah. Is that . . . what about it?"
She shook her head. "I guess I'm just used to you shimmering in."
"I'm trying to correct my former habits I guess," he mumbled.
"Right . . ." she whispered, another waft of dizziness clouding her head. She focused on the floor to retain balance and swallowed down hard.
"Are you okay?" he asked distantly.
"Fine," she replied. "What do you want?"
His cold demeanor retook his face. "I've been tracking a demon . . . and his trail led me here - - -"
"And this is probably where it stops. Was he tall? Bad teeth? Long hair?"
"Yeah," he replied with a short nod.
"He has been taken care of," she told him. He suppressed a smirk. "I didn't know you tracked demons now . . ."
"Well, times have changed. I have to do something with this power now that I have control over it," he answered.
"That's surprisingly decent of you."
"Thanks . . ." he shrugged. His eyes traveled downward to her swollen abdomen. "How's the kid?"
"Still inside of me," she answered. "For another two months at least."
"Going to be a powerful I imagine," he muttered. He looked up. "I meant to apologize for . . . for the futile face-off we had."
"Are you kidding me? It was a blast knocking you on your ass," she replied.
"Right," he said, his cold eyes twinkling slightly with amusement. "I should go."
She nodded.
Oh why did it have to happen?
The faintness swooped in once more, her eyes squeezing shut as placed a hand on the door frame to steady herself.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"Yeah . . . just dizzy . . . I must have hit my head when I dove . . ." she mumbled.
His eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked past her into the familiar manor. "Is anyone home? Leo . . . the girls?"
She shook her head. "No, Leo had a charge crisis and Paige and Phoebe departed to diffuse a demonic dilemma . . . wow that's a lot of alliteration . . ."
Cole rolled his eyes as she slowly stood up straight, regaining her composure. "Are you sure I should leave?"
"Yes go," she answered, exhaling deeply.
He nodded his eyes still wide and frozen on her. "All right. I'll see you later . . ."
She watched through hazy vision as he turned and made his way down the porch steps.
Before she could reach to close the door a sharp and penetrating pain struck her abdomen and she gave a moan. Her hands went to her knees, the only position that kept her from doubling over in pain. The floor moved beneath her as tears clung to her eyes. The abrupt twinge had her wanting to scream out.
Everything around her was a blur. She felt his hands on her sides and his voice echoed through her head, but she couldn't manage to make sense of any of what he was saying. She tried to speak but her words came out as incomprehensible moans and groans.
"The baby . . ." she slurred out. "Oh God . . ."
"I've got you," he said. He did his best to preserve his distant and calm composure but the event was sending ripples through it.
"Ah!" she cried. "Cole . . ."
Her head felt light in all its wooziness and suddenly she found herself fainting back even as she fought so hard to keep her eyes open; fighting to stay strong for her daughter. It was all she could think of as she disappeared into blackness and he secured her in his strong and powerful arms.
"Hey can we get some help?!" Cole Turner's voice echoed through the San Francisco Memorial Hospital, a limp body in his arms. A doctor sprinted over shouting at a few orderlies to grab a stretcher as he did so.
"What's the problem?"
"I don't know, you're the doctor," Cole answered cynically as he gently laid Piper Halliwell onto the gurney. The doctor granted him an ungrateful look and he cleared his throat. "She collapsed a few moments ago . . . I'm not sure what's wrong with her . . . she mentioned hitting her head."
"How far along is she?"
"She's two months to her due date," he remembered.
"All right well we need to get her stabilized," the doctor muttered, shouting more orders as they pushed the gurney down the hall with the help of a team of nurses and orderlies. One of them dropped behind, quickly approaching Cole and talking quickly.
"You're the father," he stated. Cole opened his mouth to correct the remark but he was suddenly cut off. "Everything is going to be fine. Once we get your wife stabilized you can go in and see her if it's not too serious . . . You want to get out of those bloody clothes?"
Cole's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked down and scanned his outfit. His heart gave a harsh pound at the sight of red stains on his shirt.
It was serious.
"Are you sure she's going to be okay?" he asked slowly looking back at the young orderly.
"They're going to do everything they can for her . . ." he said unsurely. "Come on, we can get you some scrubs."
Piper Halliwell slowly blinked open her eyes, a white ceiling greeting her from above. Her head was pounding and an IV needle pierced her forearm. Her hand quickly found her stomach as she tried to sit up.
"Easy, Piper," Cole advised. Her eyes widened.
"What happened? What's going on?" she asked frantically.
"You collapsed back at the manor," he replied.
"Is the baby okay?" she asked hopefully.
He bit on his lower lip. "I think so," he answered. His gaze drifted to the nurse in the corner who was busy setting up a machine. "They're going to do a picture thing."
"An ultrasound," the doctor corrected as she entered carrying a file. "How are you feeling Ms. Halliwell?"
"It's Mrs. Halliwell," Piper corrected, suddenly realizing that her husband was no where in sight. Her heart dropped.
"Of course," the doctor nodded, her gaze landing on Cole. He prepared to open his mouth once more, desperate to correct the hospital staff's mistake but again was unsuccessful.
"Doctor, what's going on?" Piper asked nervously.
"We're still in the process of clearing that up," she answered. "After an ultrasound we may be able to detect what caused the bleeding. If it's a placental abruption we're going to need to take you in for surgery immediately."
Piper's expression grew graver and Cole swallowed hard feeling sudden empathy for her. "I understand you don't have an OB/GYN."
Piper nodded tears threatening to gloss her eyes. "My sister's were going to be midwives. We were going to do the delivery at home."
The doctor rolled her eyes and pursed her lips as she stared down at the chart. "Well, by now you can tell that alternate forms of medicine can be devastating to both mother and child. It would have been much more logical for you to come in and do this right. We may have detected all this much sooner . . . the toxemia . . . all of it. It's so disappointing when we get cases like this . . ."
Piper swallowed down hard suppressing tears. Cole nearly shook with rage, his eyes burning holes into the doctor who suddenly found it okay to be a tyrant to her latest patient. The words had a harsh affect on Piper, who usually would have quipped back but at the moment she was too frail to fight.
Cole would have to for her.
"Doctor, can I talk to you for a moment," he said, rising from the chair to reach his full height.
Her eyes widened slightly as Cole brushed past her and opened the door to the hall. She slowly followed him out and he slammed the door shut behind them. Piper shuddered slightly, watching anxiously as Cole glared down the cold-hearted doctor.
"What can I help you with Mr. Halliwell - - -"
"It's Mr. Turner," he replied darkly. "And I speak for Piper when I say she could do without your crude and insensitive remarks. The woman is in fear for both her and her first child's life for God's sake. Your job's to help her, not tell her what poor choices she's made. You're a doctor not a judge! So you get in there and you make sure that her and that baby is okay and you don't give her another funny look or strange comment or so help me God I will make sure that . . ."
He paused for a moment clearing his throat. "If I see another disheartening look on her face caused by any words escaping your mouth I will make sure you never set foot in the San Francisco Memorial Hospital again."
The doctor nodded. "I think we have an understanding Mr. Turner."
Piper watched in near amusement as the door pushed back open, Cole following close behind the doctor. She raised her eyebrows at him and he gave a modest shrug. He shuffled to her bedside, his eyes on the monitor displaying a blurry outline of an infant; Piper's infant.
"The baby looks to be in decent condition . . . but an ultrasound may not pick up the signs of an abruption."
"What do you mean?" Piper asked softly as the doctor kept the camera in place over the top of her stomach.
"Bleeding could indicate that an abruption has occurred and since it sounds like you suffered trauma during your fall it's likely. The baby's heart rate is fine now but if it ends up in trouble we're going to end up needing to perform a c-section - - -"
"But I'm only six and a half months."
The doctor nodded. "I'm aware, but if the placenta has separated from the uterus than the baby will be cut off from oxygen supply."
Piper nodded a lump rising in her throat. "But I haven't abrupt?"
"No," the doctor replied. "We're going to keep you here under observation and send this to the labs. Only 20% of abruptions show up on the ultrasound."
"I can't have the baby now," Piper nearly choked. "I know that premature birth is a huge risk. I'm smart enough to know that."
"We're talking worst case scenarios here Piper. We need to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Right now the baby looks fine and there is a chance with bed rest you could make it a few more weeks to avoid a premature birth. We're going to do everything we can to ensure you have a healthy baby," the doctor assured. Piper swallowed and gave a nod as the doctor rose. "I want you to tell us if you feel any more pain, all right?"
"Okay," she nodded.
Cole and Piper watched silently as the doctor and nurse departed, leaving them alone in the room. Piper sniffled but no tears had fallen. "Are you okay?"
She looked up at Cole who had come around to face her in front of the bed. "I've been better," she answered. He nodded.
"The doctors seem to know what they're doing . . . even if one of them is a bit of a . . . well you know . . ."
Piper gave a smile and nodded. She lowered her head. "Thank you . . . for whatever you did out there."
"Yeah," he replied softly.
She swallowed as she twiddled her thumbs together. "Did you call Phoebe and Paige?"
He exhaled and slowly took a seat next to her. "I don't want you to panic but I haven't been able to get a hold of them yet," he replied.
"Oh my God," Piper gasped.
"No, no, don't do this, stay calm. I'm sure they're not answering because they know it's me who's calling - - -"
"Great," she whimpered. She tried to take control of her breathing. She felt like hyperventilating. "And where the hell is Leo?! He should know that something is wrong. Why isn't he here?"
"Shhh," Cole hushed her, placing his hands over hers in attempts to calm her. "Everything will be fine. Do you have your cell phone with you?"
She shook her head, biting on her lower lip.
"Okay, you're not breathing, breathe," he advised. She slowly exhaled. "Right, that's good. Now, Phoebe and Paige, they're fine. And if they're not Leo is with them. He's probably tied up with a charge, that's all . . . now if Phoebe and Paige don't answer any more of my calls they're going to end up going to the manor and they're going to realize that you're not there and they're eventually going to find out that you're here."
Tears welled up in Piper's eyes as she nodded.
"And you know they'll be sure to find Leo after that," he replied.
"You're right," she said with a sigh. She hastily wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Cole. I don't even . . . I don't even understand half of what is going on."
"I don't either," he muttered taking a scan around the room.
"I'm scared," she whispered. "I've never been so scared . . ."
He swallowed.
"I've face demons and death and the source of all evil . . . but I've never been this scared in my entire life . . . I learned how to be brave when Prue died for my sisters . . . but I don't know how to be brave now."
"Be brave for your . . . for your child, Piper," Cole replied. "She needs you. She's a Halliwell . . . she's strong. And I know that you can be brave enough for the both of you."
"I hope so," she said. She dried her cheeks with a corner of the blanket. She sniffled. "Leo and I don't even have the nursery ready . . . or anything ready."
"Well, babies survived long before Babies R Us, so I think you'll manage," he replied.
Piper scoffed. "There's a Cole Turner I recognize. I was wondering if I was dreaming or delusional."
"Am I really that bad? I mean the entire empathetic, supportive, stand-in husband act is all new to me . . ."
"You're doing an exceptional job," Piper told him. "I will admit that I am both grateful and impressed."
"Impressed? I didn't know I could have that affect on you," he said, giving a cheeky raise of his eyebrows.
"Yeah, well don't get used to it Turner," she laughed.
"Oh trust me, I probably won't," he assured. He sighed. "So after this are you going to be soccer mom?"
"I don't know," Piper chuckled. "Could you really see me in a mini van?"
He shrugged. "It could definitely be amusing."
"Yeah, well it's not gonna happen," she snorted.
"What? Are you gonna be the cool mom?" Cole chortled.
She gave his arm a playful slap. "Shut up," she laughed. She gave a sigh as their giggles eased a little. "I can't believe I'm actually getting along with you."
"Well, you know what they say about desperate times . . ."
His words came to a halt as Piper's face twisted in pain and she jerked forward, hands on her abdomen. "Oh my . . . God," she yelled.
"What is it?" Cole asked tensely.
"I don't know," she grunted. "I think my water just broke?"
He quickly rose from his seat at her bedside, flinging open the door. "We need some help in here!" he called out. Piper tried to take control of her breathing as the monitors around her went fanatical with beeps and flashes.
In an instant the doctor had reappeared, two orderlies behind her. She took a glance at one of the monitors as the handrails on Piper's bed were pushed up by the two male orderlies. "Baby's heart rate's dropping," she announced. "Piper I need you to lie on your left side."
"What's happening?" Piper whimpered as an oxygen mask was slipped over her face.
The doctor gave no answer as she looked to the surgeon and nurse who had also arrived in the room, helping to push the gurney out the door. "She's had an abruption. We're going to need to get that baby out of there quickly."
Tears rolled down Piper's cheeks as Cole ran to keep up with the stretcher. His feet propelled him forward without question and his heart was pounding. As the gurney reached the double doors to the operating room he was held back by one of the nurses.
"You're going to have to wait outside sir," she told him,
He swallowed hard, peering past the woman's shoulder to see Piper inside. "She's going to be okay?"
"We'll do what we can," the nurse replied before disappearing into the OR.
Cole silently stood near the operating room window, his hand pressed against the glass, his eyes wide and hopeful.
New Charmed Story! Yay! Pretty much altered history as you will see in the chapters that follow . . . I wrote a story kind of similar to this called Catching My Fall but I like this version much better and I have more written. In fact I'll probably remove Catching My Fall in a few days and have this story up in its place. Hope you enjoy and reviews are appreciated and encouraging ! ~ Sam